


seasalt bubbly

by Saengak



Series: GilHanne collection [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: M/M, Near Drowning, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24786262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saengak/pseuds/Saengak
Summary: When a fierce storm destroys Hanneman’s boat, he falls into the sea certain that it would be his end.
Relationships: Hanneman von Essar/Gilbert Pronislav
Series: GilHanne collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1787005
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the art made by my friend TimetheHobo! https://twitter.com/timethehobo/status/1273269118234329092

“Oh no, no, please—”

Hanneman breaks off into a scream as he throws himself over the small, waterproof chest of samples that he had collected from the previous island he’d visited. A wave swells and tosses his boat, sending it practically flying over the surface of the sea before it crashes again with a bone-jarring splash. The lone researcher on it slams hard against the boat’s side, the chest’s edges digging into his ribs, and nearly inhales a lungful of water.

Whimpering, Hanneman clings onto his precious research with one arm and the boat’s edge with the other. “Please!” he wails at the flashing sky, but the hard downpour of rain and the sound of crashing waves drown out his plea.

He’s up to his waist in freezing water, legs turning numb from the cold. Salt coats the inside of his mouth and stings his streaming eyes. Despair comes over Hanneman as the sea batters him relentlessly, the wood and metal of his seacraft groaning under its violence. 

“I can’t die yet!” Hanneman shouts. “My sister is still waiting for me back home!”

The sea swells again beneath him, lifting him up towards the rumbling sky like a tiny human offering for the raging gods. Sitting in his fragile walnut-shell of a boat, Hanneman’s heart clenches in terror. “Please…”

Then he plummets.

The sea swallows him up like a hungry beast, engulfing his senses and muting the howls of the storm into strange, soft rumbles. The metal-capped edges of the chest slip from the loosening grasp of his wrinkled fingers as Hanneman sinks into the sea, barely conscious and bleeding from the head. There’s water in his mouth and in his nose, blazing pain that makes him struggle weakly, but his limbs are leaden.

The chest floats upwards, a dark shape against the churning surface of the water and the white lightening above it. It joins the scatter flotsam of his shattered boat, growing further and further away as Hanneman reaches out in vain. Darkness creeps up on him.

_‘Sorry, Jeanne…’_

As his eyes slip shut, he can almost feel his sister embrace him from behind.

* * *

He wakes up cocooned in furs. “H-uh? Waa—?” His head hurts and his words don’t sound like words.

“He’s awake!” someone squeals, a young woman’s high pitched voice.

Hanneman folds down a piece of soft sealskin from his face and blinks his blurry, sticky eyes. “Hoo?” The room is softly lit by a golden glow but left bare of any furniture. He can barely make out some kind of curved, transparent glass wall… No. He’s in a bubble. A little bubble of air barely large enough to fit him and his pile of furs, suspended some kind underwater room. A glowing jellyfish squirts lazily past him and Hanneman gapes.

Is he dead? Or perhaps knocked silly? His head throbs again.

The thump of his heart picks up as he recalls the storm and how his ship had been utterly wrecked. He had definitely been drowning—his throat still feels raw and his tongue feels swollen. Pressing his hand against his bare chest, Hanneman feels the strong pulse of his heartbeat and takes a shuddering breath.

He’d been saved, somehow. Clutching the warm furs to himself, suddenly feeling vulnerable in his nakedness, Hanneman watches the door with nervous anticipation. Everything about this underwater room is so strange; he wouldn’t be surprised if a mermaid swims in and declares that she had rescued him.

The firm knock on the door has him jumping. Mouth dry, Hanneman watches as it swings open, fear and curiousity swelling unbearably in his chest as a man swims in.

No, not a man. A _merman_ , square-jawed and handsome enough to be a king. Hanneman makes some undefinable noise of utter amazement as his eyes grow wide enough to hurt. He hadn’t actually thought—!

The merman’s tail follows him, thick and coiled with power as he turns elegantly in the water and closes the door. The small scales on his tail are a gorgeous, shimmering tapestry of dark orange-reds, the same shades as the long braid that floats behind his head. His tail ends in a dangerous, shark-like fin, nothing like the delicate, translucent skirts that the tales like to wax on about.

And _oh_. Human he may be from waist upwards, but he is built with just as much strength. Hanneman cannot help but stare, mouth agape, at his broad shoulders and muscled arms. Surely he must be an exceptional specimen even amongst his own kind. When Hanneman finally tears his eyes from the merman’s rounded pectorals, squeezed as they are by the man’s crossed arms, the man is levelling him with an amused look.

“How are you feeling?”

Embarrassment immediately burns hot through him, sending his face ablaze. “I-I’m fine!” he squeaks, clutching the furs to himself, suddenly conscious of his own bony, bared shoulders. “I do apologise!”

“Whatever are you sorry for?” the man chuckles, swimming closer. Hanneman watches the undulation of his form in fascination before remembering that it is rude to stare. The man doesn’t seem to mind, though, as he breaches the bubble with his hand and sits down at the edge of Hanneman’s pile of furs. He leaves the rest of his long tail trailing out of the bubble and in the water.

“You’re… dry.” His hair is a brighter shade of ginger, contrasting beautifully with his light teal eyes.

“Yes, the bubble is a magic barrier meant to keep water out,” the man explains, the skin around his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiles. “We don’t want you drowning again, do we?”

“Did you save me?” Hanneman breathes. “Thank you. You have my eternal gratitude.”

“It was the least I could do. I’m sorry that I could not recover your belongings, however. I was in a rush to get you to safety.”

“No, no, I’m giddy with joy just to be alive. Please do not apologise when you’ve done so much for me.” He beams at the merman. It’s true. He barely feels the loss of his research, not when something far better is sitting before him. If not for the weakness that still plagues his limbs, he would be falling over himself at the sight of a living, breathing _merman_. His heart still races. “Good sir, may I know your name?”

“Hm. You may refer to me as Gustave. And yourself?”

“Hanneman von Essar, simple adventurer and researcher, at your service,” Hanneman tries to sketch a small bow without dislodging the furs. Cheeks warm, he sneaks another glance at Gustave’s majestic tail. “Are you the king of merpeople?”

Gustave gives a single, startled laugh. “No, no. I am merely the king’s guard. I was patrolling the waters when I saw you and your ship.”

“Ah,” Hanneman says softly, feeling his face heat further.

Luckily, he’s saved by the sound of the door opening. “Food, food, delicious food…!” a mermaid sing-songs as she swims in, snapping the door shut with a flick of her tail as she cradles several metal lunchboxes and bottles of water in her arms. “I made this for us!”

She somehow trips over her own tail and falls face-first into Hanneman’s bubble, a startled yelp escaping her as everything tumbles into his lap. Gustave catches her before she smashes into him. “Annette,” Gustave sighs, pulling her to sit. “Watch your tail.”

“Sorry!” she squeaks, looking mortified. “Did I hurt you?”

“Not at all,” Hanneman exclaims, placing the lunchboxes and water between them and giving her an assuring smile. “Are you alright?”

“She’s fine,” Gustave says, shaking his head as Annette nods sheepishly. “Just clumsy. Hanneman, this is my daughter Annette. Annette, this is Hanneman.”

“Nice to meet you,” Annette chirps, looking just as excited to see Hanneman as he is to see her. She looks very much like Gustave—with bright ginger hair and beautiful teal eyes, but she is much, much smaller. Her tail is much lighter too, with more oranges than reds, and a smattering of teal scales along her back. Her short, sleeveless top is made of braided seaweed fibres and decorated along the hem with colourful shells, giving her a cute, cheerful look. 

She gives a happy trill as she pops open the lunchboxes and hands one to Hanneman. “Eat up! I don’t know what humans eat, so I made some of my favourites.”

The lunchbox is filled to the brim with all kinds of seafood: a piece some kind of fish, a chunk of seaweed jelly, slices of octopus, an assortment of clams, two mussels, and some shredded seaweed. “This is amazing.” His stomach chimes in with a loud growl. It is simply prepared by boiling, but its flavours explode in his mouth when he tries a slice of octopus. “Mm!”

“I’m so glad.” Annette clasps her hands happily and beams at him, and Gustave gives her a fond look.

* * *

Hanneman spends most of his time in his little bubble, sleeping and eating Annette’s wonderfully prepared meals as he recovers. He’d gotten his clothes back again, dried and folded, so he no longer spends his time huddled under his sealskins. Most of his day is spent chatting with Annette, who sits eagerly by his bedside as they swap stories about their people. The Kingdom, as Hanneman learns, is what the merpeople call their place under the sea. Hanneman is sequestered away in the king’s castle, where Gustave and his daughter lives.

Gustave is also apparently something of a knight to his king, although they do not seem to have the title. He explains his duties on one of his visits, telling Hanneman about the fishing boats that he would drive away by cutting the nets and releasing the fish. “We protect our territory,” Gustave says proudly.

“And you protect drowned sailors,” Hanneman adds, only to have Gustave pause and avert his eyes.

“You were the first.” He clears his throat. “You had waved at me and shouted, so I was intrigued.”

“I did?!”

Hanneman thinks back frantically. Surely he would not have forgotten such a thrilling sight as Gustave…?

“I believe you had mistaken me for a shark. I would advise you not to stick your head into the water next time, however.”

Oh goddess preserve him. Hanneman buries his face in his hands, mortified. Now he remembers. “I have thoroughly embarrassed myself before you.”

“Not at all,” Gustave says, his lips twitching. “Your excitement and love for the creatures of the sea is a rare and inspiring thing.” His voice is soft, devoid of the mocking undertone that Hanneman is used to hearing, and Hanneman dares to look up again.

“Really?”

The merman simply inclines his head. “I have something for you,” he says, reaching for the messenger bag he’d brought with him and pulling out a bundle of soft grey cloth. “I asked some of our tailors to make you some clothes, but,” he chuckles awkwardly as he unrolls it, “it seems that they have some interesting ideas about how to help you fit in.”

Hanneman stares at the long piece of cloth that Gustave hands him before realising it’s supposed to be a fake tail, together with a fin at the end that he can slip his feet into. It has a strange waxy texture to it and Hanneman guesses that it is supposed to be waterproof. “T-This is amazing,” he crows, turning it over in his hands and bringing it up to his face. “Look at the way they stitched outlines of the scales! I love it.”

Gilbert looks relieved. “Try it on, then,” he says, turning his back to give Hanneman some privacy. “Perhaps after this we can go out in public for a swim.”

Working the zipper along the back of the tail open, Hanneman nods excitedly. “That would be an adventure of a lifetime! I don’t really know how to swim with my legs in this though. Usually I’d kick my legs.”

“Oh.” Gustave sounds dumbfounded. Swimming is probably something that they’d all been born knowing. “I suppose you can hold onto me.”

Hanneman imagines plastering himself over Gustave’s back and feels himself flush. “Sounds like a plan?” The tail fits surprisingly well considering the fact that they had not gotten his measurements in person, the slightly stretchy cloth clinging to the shape of his hips and his legs and pinching tightly where it ends at his waist. Next to Gustave’s strong tail however, which is sleek and rounded with muscle, his legs seem even skinnier. “Um.”

“Are you done?”

“Yes. I hope.”

Gustave turns and looks him up and down with a quick sweep of his gaze, the curious look on his face turning into heavy-lidded appreciation. “You look good.”

“Thanks,” Hanneman chuckles nervously, resisting the urge to cross his arms before his chest. He has never dressed quite like this. “It fits well.”

“Come, hold onto me then.” Gustave offers his broad back.

“A-Are you sure? I truly would not wish to inconvenience you.”

He smiles over his shoulder. “Not at all. You shouldn’t be cooped up in here all day without any sun.”

Eagerness wins out at the thought of exploring the underwater kingdom. “Here we go,” Hanneman says brightly, wrapping his arms around Gustave’s shoulders and holding on tight. The merman is exceptionally warm, a beacon of heat pressed tight against his chest. With the rest of their bodies aligned, Hanneman realises just how long Gustave’s tail is. It must extend at least another foot beneath Hanneman’s faux tail. He has always been considered tall amongst his peers, but clinging onto Gustave like this, he feels almost small.

This is either going to be the worst idea Hanneman has ever agreed to or the best. Squeezing his eyes shut, Hanneman tucks his face against his arm, but that only make Gustave’s scent more obvious—warm seasalt and something undefinable that is very much him.

“Hold on.”

In his excitement, Hanneman had forgotten to think about air. “Wait—” he blurts out in panic, bracing himself for the water’s cold slap in his face, but only his body feels the enveloping wetness. “Ah?”

Opening his eyes, he realises that Gustave had already spelled a bubble around his head. The man looks back and lifts and eyebrow. “Alright?”

Hanneman hugs him tighter as thanks for his thoughtfulness. “Yes,” he murmurs, feeling silly. “I forgot about needing air but it seems that you’d already taken care of that.”

“It would be bad form to drown a guest,” Gustave chuckles, propelling them forward with a lazy twitch of his tail. He opens the door and ducks through it, taking one hallway then the next, until they emerge through one of the windows. “Welcome to the Kingdom,” he murmurs softly, turning back to drink in the way awe blooms over Hanneman’s face.

“ _Wow_...”

Sprawled before him is a beautiful landscape of such vibrant, patchwork colours that Hanneman has to take a moment to realise what he’s seeing. Towers and arches of stone rise up from the ground to form a complex, multistory city, each one of them covered by a blanket of coloured coral and soft, waving anemones. Mile-long lengths of kelp grow in between, reaching up towards the sun that shines so bright and blue above them. There are mermen and mermaids _everywhere_ , flitting in and out of their homes like fish amongst rocky formations, and the castle watches over them all.

Gustave lets them floating lazily through the water as Hanneman gapes, overwhelmed by the number of sights. “Where would you like to go first?”

“Bring me everywhere,” Hanneman breathes, squirming in delight. He wants to etch every brick of stone and every branch of coral into his brain, so he can remember it forever. “Please. It’s _beautiful._ ”

Laughing softly, Gustave begins swimming.


	2. Chapter 2

“You should have told me to stop earlier,” Gustave scolds gently as he dabs at Hanneman’s burning brow. It seems that their prolonged swim in the cold water, together with the shock of his near drowning, has finally given him a fever.

The human giggles breathlessly and tries to kick off his furs. His skin is pink and bare and damp with sweat, and Gustave has to make a concerted effort to avert his eyes. “We hadn’t finished the tour yet…” Hanneman protests, nearly whining.

“We can’t see _everything_ in one day,” he sighs, unable to make his tone anything but exasperatedly fond as he shoves the towel outside the protective bubble to wet it. Hanneman’s burning hand grasps his forearm with surprising strength, tugging him down close.

“There’s one thing I haven’t examined yet,” the researcher whispers, breath blooming warmly over Gustave’s face. The hidden gills along his neck tighten at the sensation. “You.”

Then he giggles and curls up in his bed, the unnamed tension between them dissipating in an instant. Gustave sucks in a sharp breath. “Hanneman,” he growls in gravelly tones. The researcher hides his face behind his hands but he can’t hide his grin. Gustave snorts. “I’d gladly bring you out again _if_ you promise to tell me when you’re tired or chilled.”

“Really?” The human drops his hands and fixes Gustave with a glazed, dreamy look. “Thank you, Gustave. You’re brilliant.”

“Rest now, Hanneman,” he sighs, trying to ignore the clench of his heart at the sound of his name spoken so softly. The cool towel goes over Hanneman’s brow again and the small sound of relief that he lets out makes a small pang go through Gustave’s chest.

Human beings are truly so fragile. Gustave looks at the fake tail drying beside Hanneman wistfully.

He should send him back onto land soon. If it had been any other human, Gustave would have done so days ago. His king is already giving him questioning looks for visiting Hanneman so often; he would not be happy to realise that Gustave had brought him around to see the city. Gustave can only pretend to be obtuse for so long before his king orders him to give the human up.

Hanneman has a sister waiting for him back home, too. Someone who loves and misses him. She must be worried sick, thinking that her brother has been lost at sea. Gustave mustn’t be so selfish as to keep him from his family, not when she had been the last thing he’d cried out for when he’d sunken into the sea.

Gustave takes the warmed towel from Hanneman’s brow and lets out another long exhale. Truth be told, he has grown attached to the human and his sincere adoration for the world. Most humans he met were either hateful, greedy creatures or boring corpses, falling to pieces.

But Hanneman shines with the brightness of a thousand suns and Gustave is captivated. Everything seen through his eyes is beautiful, from the plainest hermit crab to the grandest corals. Whereas Gustave’s life had grown mundane, the waves above his head a faded grey and the sand below his feet a sprawling desert of nothingness, Hanneman finds it all wondrous. His excitement is infectious, and Gustave finds himself laughing and smiling more than he has for years.

It has been a long time since he and Annette’s mother had agreed to part ways in search of warmer seas, and he has been admittedly… lonely. Only his duty to his king and his love for Annette sustains him, but he had not realised how much he had wished for company.

Giving in to a moment’s need, Gustave curls his tail around Hanneman and wraps his arm around the man. It is foolish to wish for a world where Hanneman would be able to live amongst them, but he’ll take his comforts where he is allowed.

This is how King Lambert finds him.

“Gustave,” he hisses lowly, jolting Gustave from his sleep. He quickly unentangles himself from Hanneman, who had wrapped himself around Gustave during the course of the night. Luckily, the researcher grumbles but does not wake. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Your Majesty,” Gustave whispers contritely, quickly getting off the bed of furs and slipping back into the water. He had not expected his king himself to come visit. Lambert frowns and swims out of the room with a regal flick of his golden tail, Gustave trailing after him like a chastised pup. “I can explain,” he says urgently once the door is shut behind them. “He is sick, Your Majesty. He needs time to recover.”

“You brought him into our city,” Lambert snaps, his hair floating about his face as he whirls sharply on Gustave. “How could you? I tolerated your request to bring him into the castle because you had wanted to save him, but letting him roam amongst our people is dangerous! Do you not know how much destruction they leave in the wake of their greed? You should be ashamed for placing our people in such risk.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Gustave murmurs, the weight of his king’s disapproval feeling like a lodestone around his neck. Still, he cannot help but think of the promise that he had made to Hanneman just hours ago, that he would bring him to see the city once more. “Please, give him a chance. He is not like other humans. Never has he once asked me for anything. He would not plot to pillage or destroy us. When he first saw me in the sea, thinking that I was a shark, he used no nets or spears to harm me.”

“He has ensnared you with his charms instead, it seems,” his king says disapprovingly. “No good can come with this dalliance, Gustave. You have a duty to the Kingdom and our people to protect them. Never forget.”

Gustave’s tail twitches in agitation. “Your Majesty…”

The king’s expression softens slightly. “Send the human back onto land once he is fit enough to travel and cast a forgetfulness spell on him. There is an abandoned boat tethered to the cliffs. It should carry him well.”

“I understand.”

“Good.”

Gustave watches the golden glint of his king’s tail disappear down the hallway, feeling as if he had been stabbed through the gut.

* * *

Hanneman sits propped on his pillows, nibbling on a piece of dried squid as he plays seashell chess with Annette. Gustave lounges across his legs, watching with an absent smile on his face as Hanneman corners Annette’s pieces with a quick few moves, making her gasp and flop onto the bed with defeat. “Again!” she cries, already resetting the pieces as Hanneman chuckles. “It’s unfair how good you are at this.”

“Only because I’ve had a good teacher,” Hanneman says good-naturedly, and Annette goes red at the compliment.

“T-That’s… hardly!”

Hanneman’s eyes crinkle, but it fades slightly when he glances over at Gustave. “You’ve been quieter than usual, Gustave. Something on your mind?”

He considers saying no but he has already procrastinated on this for too long. No longer does Hanneman have a feverish flush on his cheeks or the glaze of sickness in his eyes, and Gustave’s heart is at once light with relief and heavy with dread.

In the end, he decides to be plain. “The king has ordered me to bring you back to land. You are to leave once you have recovered and a boat has been prepared.” Setting a hand on Hanneman’s knee, Gustave gives it a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Hanneman. I wish you could have stayed longer.”

“No,” Annette whispers, her gaze pleading. “He has been here barely more than a week!”

“I’m sorry, Annette. The king wills it,” he replies softly.

Disappointment flickers over Hanneman’s face before he smothers it with a bright smile. “You all have shared so generously. I can only be grateful! Every second here has been so precious… I will treasure our memories forever. Especially the both of you.”

Guilt washes over Gustave.

“If only there is some way I can pay you both back for your kindness…” Hanneman muses sadly.

“You do not owe us anything,” Annette exclaims, taking his hand.

“We are friends by now,” Gustave agrees with a nod. “Please do not speak of debts.”

Hanneman’s lips press together as his eyes begin glistening with unshed tears. “Thank you. This has been the greatest adventure of my life, truly. If I were to die now, I would not have any regrets.”

“Don’t be so morbid!” Annette protests, and Hanneman laughs.

“Yes, my lady.”

* * *

The day he is to leave, Hanneman holds onto Gustave again, arms coiled loosely around his neck as he waves to Annette. “Bye!” he shouts as Gustave swims slowly away, waving his arm hard enough to throw Gustave off balance. “Take care!”

Annette waves back just as frantically, following them until the edge of the castle grounds. “I’ll miss you!” she calls back tearfully, her tail weaving through the water in anxious strokes as she watches them leave.

“Thank you for all the meals!”

It is only when the castle disappears from their sight and they are swimming over the city proper that Hanneman digs the pointy end of his chin back into the flesh of Gustave’s shoulder. “I will miss you too,” he murmurs sadly, even as he drinks in the sight of the city beneath them greedily. It sparkles in the rays of sunlight that trickle down upon them, jewel rubies and emeralds and sapphires. Hanneman sighs. “It will probably take me years of work before I can save up enough funds to make another expedition to these seas, to visit you.”

Gustave’s guilt deepens. “Do not worry,” he says, fixing his eyes upon the cliff in the distance. The abandoned boat bobs upon the sea, its curved bottom appearing and disappearing amidst the impatient waves. “It is peaceful here,” Gustave assures. “And we live long lives. You should take care of yourself instead. The journey here perilous, as you should know.” Hanneman chuckles sheepishly, sending pleasant reverberations through Gustave’s back. “So do not risk yourself unnecessarily.”

“A trip here to see a… um… a good friend is hardly unnecessary.”

Glancing back, he sees nothing but Hanneman’s hair, the rest of his face hidden against Gustave’s shoulder. The protective bubble spell shimmers around his head, overlapping part of Gustave’s shoulder and letting him feel the heat of the other man’s cheek pressed against him. A smile comes unbidden to his lips.

He has not been able to fulfil his promise of letting Hanneman tour the city again, but they had spent the time enjoying each other’s company instead. And Hanneman is very good company indeed.

Gustave flicks his tail and sends them rising towards the surface, the sun brightening until it is a bright white all around them, stinging his eyes. “Here we are,” he murmurs, breaking the surface. Hanneman kicks his feet and lets go of him, cold water replacing the warmth of his body.

“Ah! It looks a lot like my boat!” The human swims over to it, paddling awkwardly until he manages to cling onto its side with a hand. Green paint flakes off it, speckling the water with spots of colour as Hanneman strains to pull himself up onto it. “Oof.”

“Let me help.” Gustave grabs Hanneman’s legs and boosts him up with a powerful snap of his tail, lifting him up and out of the water before tipping him into the boat.

Hanneman lands with a soft thump and yelps. “Ouch, I think I sat on… Oh, you packed food for me? And water?”

“Of course,” Gustave says fondly, lifting himself half onto the boat so he can lean over its side. “Annette made sure that you would have enough for your trip.”

With a small smile, Hanneman puts the supplies he’d knocked over back to rights. “She is very kind.”

Fatherly pride blooms in Gustave’s heart as he nods. “Check that you have everything,” he says, gesturing at the pile of rope that they had scavenged for Hanneman. “There is some rope for you and the sail has been replaced, but none of us are seafaring experts.”

Hanneman laughs and does as Gustave suggests, crawling around the boat to make sure everything is in order. “It all looks fine. I wish I had a map and some kind of compass, but I suppose you can point me in the right direction.”

Gustave raises an eyebrow. “I’m not abandoning you just yet. I’ll go with you until we can see land in the distance, at least. Don’t you worry.”

Hanneman shuffles to the edge of the boat where Gustave is and leans close. “I’m truly indebted to you again,” he murmurs, gaze gentle. Gustave unconsciously tilts his face up, eyes squinting against the brightness of the sun behind the other man. “Would you like get on the boat?”

“Thanks, but—” Shaking his head, Gustave sinks back into the water and swims to the end of the boat, where he begins untying the anchoring rope. “I’ll stay in the water or I’ll dry out like seaweed left on a rock,” he jokes dryly. “I don’t want you to see me all wrinkled. That would leave a terrible impression.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Hanneman chuckles, holding onto the boat as Gustave begins pushing him out to sea with powerful strokes of his tail. Playfully Gustave decides to show off his swimming prowess, working his tail hard until the water churns up froth and Hanneman is yelling at how fast they’re going. “Gustave, what are you _doing?_ ”

Popping out of the water, exhilarated and panting, Gustave lets the boat go and swims up to Hanneman again. “Giving you the ride of your life.”

“You already did that last night, thanks,” Hanneman quips, only to stutter and blush fiercely when Gustave eyes grow wide. “T-This is why I don’t joke.”

The deep-bellied laugh that bursts out of Gustave surprises even him. “No, no, don’t be shy.” He clutches the boat’s side with both hands, resting his forehead against it as he continues chuckling until he is breathless. “Oh you are wonderful.” His cheeks ache as he smirks at Hanneman, who gives a charming little laugh of embarrassment.

* * *

“We will have to part ways here,” Gustave says, his voice slightly hoarse from trying to keep up conversation with Hanneman all these hours. “Land is just on the horizon.”

It’s a small island, sparsely populated, but good enough to catch a larger ship that would bring Hanneman back home. Gustave swims up to the side of the boat once more, pulling himself half out of the water so Hanneman can throw himself into his arms. He crushes the researcher against his chest, feeling his throat tighten with longing as he does. “Thank you,” Hanneman says softly, sniffling.

Gustave pats his back. “I have something for you. A small gift.” He reaches back, combing through his hair to find the little piece of jewellery that he had braided into it. Loosening the braid, he takes Hanneman’s hand and presses the glimmering piece into his palm. “Here.”

“Oh,” Hanneman breathes, holding up his hand in awe.

The pearl ring seems to glow at the centre of his palm. The tiny, perfectly round pearl is an ethereal white, set in a silver band that gleams with an unnatural brightness. The silver should have corroded away in the seawater long ago, but it is still perfectly untouched. Hanneman shivers at the hum of magic as he slips it on his ring finger.

Gustave’s heart skips a beat at the sight of it on Hanneman’s hand, sitting on his ring finger as if it means something. He quickly quashes the painful jolt of longing down, dismissing it as wishful thinking. Hanneman is human.

“That was dangerous,” Gustave huffs, tilting his face up and shaking his head at Hanneman with a smile. “I could have spelled it with something nasty.”

“You wouldn’t,” Hanneman chuckles, still so soft and trusting. He turns the ring on his finger and smiles at him, his eyes a gentle blue, bluer than the sky. “So, what does it do?”

“It’ll give you a little more luck. You’ll need it,” Gustave teases. Then his expression softens. “One more kiss,” he murmurs, tilting his face up with a sad smile, “before you go.”

This will be the forgetfulness spell. _Forgive me, my dear._

Hanneman leans down with his eyes half-lidded and his lips parted, meeting Gustave halfway with the sweetest, gentlest touch of his lips against his. Closing his eyes, he reaches up and cradles Hanneman’s face in his hands, his fingers finding the slope of his neck and the line of his jaw, tracing along his skin even as he weaves the spell.

When they part again, breathless and flushed, Hanneman’s eyes are glazed with more than the intensity of the kiss. “Sorry,” Gustave breathes, stroking his hand along Hanneman’s cheek one last time before nudging him towards the centre of the boat.

Hanneman makes a confused noise and sits back, staring through Gustave as if he isn’t there.

“Go towards the land,” Gustave tells him softly, drinking in the sight of Hanneman’s face while he still can. “Go back to your family.”

“Mm…” Hanneman hums, turning to look at the island in the distance.

Before he can turn back and see Gustave again, he quickly dives back under the surface, sinking deeper into the sea until Hanneman can’t see him as anything more than a shadow beneath the waves.

“Goodbye,” Gustave whispers hoarsely, watching the bubbles trail up from his mouth to the surface, where it disappears into the sunlight.

* * *

**Epilogue**

“Oh brother I am _so_ glad you are back,” Jeanne gasps, clinging to Hanneman weepily the moment he steps through the door. He embraces her back just as tightly, his eyes stinging. “I thought I had lost you forever!”

“So I thought as well,” Hanneman whispers, tucking his face against her coiffed hair and taking a deep breath. “I was terrified when the storm hit. But…” He pulls back and beams at her. “I survived! By some miracle, truly. I must have hit my head hard because I have not one jot of memory how I did.” Shaking his head in wonder, he ducks down and plants a kiss on his sister’s cheek. “I’m back, dear Jeanne. I’m back.”

“Don’t you ever do that again,” she scowls at him, dabbing furiously at her eyes with a handkerchief. “My heart can’t take it.”

“I’m sorry, dear sister.”

She clasps his hands tightly in her own, only to look down in surprise. “What’s this? You’ve gotten _married?_ ”

“No, of course not, but... I have been puzzling over this as well,” Hanneman says in hushed tones, also staring down at the pearl ring sitting on his hand. He is sunburnt and chafed from spending so many days out at sea, but the ring still gleams, perfect. “I didn’t realise it was there until I’d landed on the island! I have no idea how I came about it.”

His sister presses her kerchief to her mouth, wide-eyed. “You say you do not remember how you were saved?”

“I truly do not.”

She squeezes his hand tight, not daring to touch the ring. “One of the seafolk must have laid claim on you,” she whispers.

Hanneman gapes. “Jeanne, those are just myths!”

“Are you sure?”

He falls silent. As if a silken thread had unravelled from a dream, the faint memory of a man with fire-bright hair surfaces from the depths of his consciousness…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *collapses from sugar overdose*
> 
> There is hope for their romance yet ;)


End file.
